


Hold Tight

by blitzturtles



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Wings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Wingfic, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 01:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19415413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blitzturtles/pseuds/blitzturtles
Summary: “Son of a bi-”Sam stops short of the doorway to the kitchen. He knows that voice all too well, but he waits for a moment, listening for whatever might follow next. It stays quiet until,“I know you’re there, Samoose.”





	Hold Tight

“Son of a bi-”

Sam stops short of the doorway to the kitchen. He knows that voice all too well, but he waits for a moment, listening for whatever might follow next. It stays quiet until,

“I know you’re there, Samoose.”

Right. Archangel. Difficult to sneak up on one of those. Not that he had honestly been trying.

“You okay?” He asks with a raised eyebrow once he rounds the corner. Gabriel _looks_ okay, but that doesn’t mean anything in this family. 

“Wonderful. Superb, even.”

Sam wouldn’t believe him on a good day, but Gabriel isn’t actually trying to hide the underlying current of emotions that he’s obviously struggling to keep a hold of. Sam steps further into the kitchen. He makes a move for the table where Gabriel is sitting, but that’s apparently the wrong move. 

“ **Stop!** ” Gabriel’s eyes flash. Grace flares outward. 

Sam thinks he should be alarmed by the fact that he can’t move all of the sudden, but he’s too startled and a bit too amazed to process the situation properly. It doesn’t last long anyways. 

Gabriel sags and mumbles a quiet apology. 

Sam wiggles his fingers just to check that he can, but he doesn’t move any closer. “You don’t have to apologize, Gabe,” he says gently, keeping his hands where Gabriel can see them.

“I just-”

“Yeah, you did, and it’s not worth beating yourself up over. No harm done, see?” He turns his hands over. Nothing missing, nothing maimed.

Gabriel swallows thickly, but he nods after a moment. 

Sam would count it as more of a win if the archangel weren’t looking so defeated. “Can I come closer?” He waits for the little nod, which he gets after a moment of hesitation. He walks carefully. Every step is deliberate, and his hands never move out of Gabriel’s line of sight. He considers rolling up his sleeves so that Gabriel knows there’s no hidden weapons. No _needles_. The motion of that might be enough to set Gabriel off again, and he’d rather not do that. If only for Gabriel’s sake. He looks close enough to falling apart.

He reaches Gabriel and isn’t surprised to have an armful of archangel a moment later. Gabriel latches onto him tight enough that it almost makes Sam’s ribs ache. He doesn’t care. All that matters is that Gabriel is letting him get close despite the anxiety that’s eating him inside out. Sam runs his fingers through Gabriel’s hair and remains unsurprised when Gabriel’s shoulders start shaking, but it does rip his heart right out of his chest. 

Sam keeps one hand in Gabriel’s hair. That’s always seemed to calm Gabe down in the past. The other works its way over the angel’s back, but Gabriel goes tense. Sucks in a deep breath that sounds suspiciously close to a hiss of pain. 

“Gabe?”

“It’s nothing,” Gabriel’s voice betrays him by cracking.

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“It’ll take care of itself.”

Sam frowns deeply at that. “It doesn’t need to,” he argues gently. It’s better to prod Gabriel in the right direction than to outright force him. “Wanna go to the bedroom?”

Gabriel looks like he might argue, but he ends up giving a one shouldered shrug instead. A one shouldered shrug that seems to add to his discomfort.

Sam’s concern is only growing, but he leans down to wipe gently at Gabriel’s eyes. He kisses his forehead for good measure. “C’mon,” he offers his hand as a lifeline and hopes Gabriel will take it. 

By the time they reach their shared bedroom, Gabriel looks like he’s ready to pass out. It worries Sam more than he wants to admit, but he’s trying his damnedest to keep from pushing Gabe too hard. He’s obviously struggling both mentally and physically, but that’s only more cause for concern. Sam hadn’t noticed Gabriel taking any hits on their last outing.

“Show me?” Sam prompts gently, then watches as Gabriel flops facedown onto the bed. Right, so this might be a little more difficult than he’d hoped.

Except then Gabriel’s wings pop out and unfurl abruptly, and that is something Sam will _never_ get used to. It’s only the largest set, but they’re impressive in their own right. The gold shines beautifully despite the awful lighting the bunker offers. Sam steps closer with some hesitation, worried about what he might find. 

There’s a decent chunk of feathers and a gash dug into one wing, close to the root. Sam winces in sympathy. “Anything I can do?”

“I was in the middle of pulling out the dead ones when you came by,” Gabriel explains. He turns his head to the side and rests his cheek on his arms. It’s his best attempt at looking unaffected, but Sam can see the fear. Exposing himself like this isn’t easy for the archangel. His time in Hell had done a number on him, and, no matter how many times they’ve done this, Gabriel remains nervous at a bare minimum.

“Oh,” that explains the cursing. “Want me to?”

“Knock yourself out,” Gabriel says, voice tighter now. 

Sam weighs his options, but he decides the wing can wait a little longer. He has a feeling it doesn’t hurt as much with it being unfurled now. He crawls onto the bed and manages to work his way underneath one wing. His arms wrap around Gabriel. Loosely at first, then a bit tighter when Gabriel doesn’t try to put distance between them. 

Gabriel presses his face against Sam’s neck. It’s a good place to pick when trying to hide from the world. His wings stay spread out, and he’s very near tears for the second time in less than an hour. 

“I’ve got you,” Sam promises. He strokes between Gabriel’s wings. “You’re safe, Gabe.”


End file.
